Trivia night at Half Penny Bar & Grill is a crowd-pleaser
Business manger is surprised by response
The Half Penny Bar and Grill in South Salem. / KOBBI R. BLAIR | Statesman Journal file
Some might call it trivial, but the pursuit of seemingly useless knowledge can at times bring its own rewards.
Currently, that reward comes in the form of "swag" at the Half Penny Bar and Grill on 3743 Commercial St. SE from 7 to 9 p.m. every Tuesday night.
Trivia night has taken the pub by storm. It's standing room only. Whole families come to share the fun. The establishment is kid-friendly until 9 p.m., and children are running about everywhere, playing pool, video games and any other available form of entertainment.
Currently, that reward comes in the form of "swag" at the Half Penny Bar and Grill on 3743 Commercial St. SE from 7 to 9 p.m. every Tuesday night.
Trivia night has taken the pub by storm. It's standing room only. Whole families come to share the fun. The establishment is kid-friendly until 9 p.m., and children are running about everywhere, playing pool, video games and any other available form of entertainment.
Monty Miller, the bar's co-owner and manager, has been blown away by the response. The evening has gained a cultlike status.
"It's a hit, a phenomenon," said Miller, who has been tending bar in Salem for more than 20 years.
"We get close to 200 people a night."
The neighborhood bar is packed full of South Salem residents looking for family fun. Most of the patrons are friends and neighbors, and if they don't already know each other at the start of the evening, by the night's end they are on the short path to becoming friends.
Shawn Findley is the emcee for the entertainment, and his wife, Bevin, runs sound and the visual presentations.
"It's fun to do," he said.
An electrician by day and a performer by night, Shawn's performance is almost vaudevillian. His acting skills have been honed on local community theater stages.
With a swagger he dances across the stage to a variety of familiar foot tapping music then launches into the next round of questions.
Bevin, an office specialist, gathers most of the material for the evening. She admits she gets quite a few of her questions from the board game "Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?" which is based on the FOX television show.
"The trivia is not that hard," she said.
The categories are generally selected by the audience the week before. The Findleys' choices of questions and answers are a melting pot of inane and interesting facts. Miller and the Findleys insure that the evening is "kept tame" though there are "adults nuances."
"It's just random," Miller said of the topics.
Patrons play as teams. They complete a questionnaire that is graded at the end of the evening.
In between trivia categories, Findley wanders into the crowd asking questions about food and drink specials and upcoming events at the grill that he has been promoting from the stage. Correct answers are rewarded with trinkets. He also hands out special prizes to all the kids.
Prizes or swag amount to key changes, bottle sleeves, leis, and other nonsensical things.
"People go crazy to get a T-shirt," Miller said.
During the halftime break between sets, the Findleys present a quick "Name that Tune" game. They play snippets of songs while volunteers from the audiences try to be the first person to slap their buzzers and name the song.
A staple in the crowd is young Kaden Johnson, a second-grader at Schirle Elementary School. Johnson is the Findleys' next-door neighbor and Shawn's self-proclaimed "best friend." Kaden often joins Shawn on stage for a bit of breakdancing.
As the evening wraps up, the winning team gathers on the stage to receive its prizes as well as a mini trophy, then a picture is taken and congratulations are exchanged.
Copyright Statesman-Journal 2010
http://www.statesmanjournal.com/article/20100915/COMMUNITIES/108160010
An electrician by day and a performer by night, Shawn's performance is almost vaudevillian. His acting skills have been honed on local community theater stages.
With a swagger he dances across the stage to a variety of familiar foot tapping music then launches into the next round of questions.
Bevin, an office specialist, gathers most of the material for the evening. She admits she gets quite a few of her questions from the board game "Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?" which is based on the FOX television show.
"The trivia is not that hard," she said.
The categories are generally selected by the audience the week before. The Findleys' choices of questions and answers are a melting pot of inane and interesting facts. Miller and the Findleys insure that the evening is "kept tame" though there are "adults nuances."
"It's just random," Miller said of the topics.
Patrons play as teams. They complete a questionnaire that is graded at the end of the evening.
In between trivia categories, Findley wanders into the crowd asking questions about food and drink specials and upcoming events at the grill that he has been promoting from the stage. Correct answers are rewarded with trinkets. He also hands out special prizes to all the kids.
Prizes or swag amount to key changes, bottle sleeves, leis, and other nonsensical things.
"People go crazy to get a T-shirt," Miller said.
During the halftime break between sets, the Findleys present a quick "Name that Tune" game. They play snippets of songs while volunteers from the audiences try to be the first person to slap their buzzers and name the song.
A staple in the crowd is young Kaden Johnson, a second-grader at Schirle Elementary School. Johnson is the Findleys' next-door neighbor and Shawn's self-proclaimed "best friend." Kaden often joins Shawn on stage for a bit of breakdancing.
As the evening wraps up, the winning team gathers on the stage to receive its prizes as well as a mini trophy, then a picture is taken and congratulations are exchanged.
Copyright Statesman-Journal 2010
http://www.statesmanjournal.com/article/20100915/COMMUNITIES/108160010
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